Halloween History: What is the origin of Halloween?

Pumpkin carving, scary costumes, enough sweets to make dentists everywhere weep, and horror movies. It’s just some of what makes Halloween so brilliant. 

But have you ever stopped to wonder where this magical holiday came from? Like what year did Halloween start? What country did Halloween originate from?  

Here’s a brief history of how one of the best dates in the calendar came to be. 

 

First, what does “Halloween” mean? 

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The word "Halloween" derives from “All Hallows’ Eve”, the evening before All Saint’s Day (also known as All Hallow’s Day) in the Christian calendar. All Hallows’ Eve kicked off the season of Allhallowtide, a three-day season which includes All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day on the 2nd of November. 

Allhallowtide is a season for celebrating the saints of the Christian church. On All Hallows’ Eve, the church would hold a vigil, and worshippers would prepare with prayers and fasting before the feast on All Saints’ Day.

And if you’re wondering what “hallowed” means, it’s something that has been made holy. Essentially, “Halloween” and “All Hallow’s Eve” means holy evening. 

So, in a way, Halloween is to All Saint’s Day what Christmas Eve is to Christmas - a pre-celebration and preparation for the big day. 

 

What is the origin of Halloween? 

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It’s widely believed that Halloween originates from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a pagan celebration marking the end of the harvest season. People lit bonfires and wore costumes to scare off ghosts. Sound familiar? This may be where the tradition of costume-wearing came from.

There’s also a theory Samhain is the reason for trick-or-treating as it's believed Celtic people would leave food out for spirits. Then people thought “hey, let's dress up as these spirits to get food ourselves!”. But there are also other theories as to how this came about. 

So our Halloween possibly evolved from the pagan and Christian celebrations combined. 

 

What year did Halloween start?

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We believe the holiday originated around 2,000 years ago, as this is when those Celtic Samhain festivals happened. Although it’s difficult to say as, y’know, they weren’t exactly good at taking notes to pass on thousands of years into the future. 

 

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Halloween is such a cracking holiday. Kids are in heaven with buckets of sweets, and adults have the perfect excuse to go out and have a laugh, too. It’s the perfect holiday!

Click or tap here to take your Halloween up a notch at some spooky Halloween events. 

 

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Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.

 

 

  

 

 

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